How to Ask Questions in Russian

How do you ask basic questions in Russian? Well, Russian interrogative words mean the same as they do for English: who, what, when, where, why, and how. By knowing basic Russian interrogatives, you'll be able to express your questions, even without an extensive vocabulary.

Kogo? (kah-VOH) (Whom?)

chto (shtoh) (What?)

kogda (kahg-DAH) (When?)

gdye (gdeh) (Where?)

Like English, the wordwho has no gender in Russian, but it can change depending on how it is used. It will usually appear as kto (ktoh) (the nominative case), but it can also become kogo (kah-VOH) (genitive case); kogo (kah-VOH) (accusative case); komu (koh-MOO) (dative case); kyem (kyem) (instrumental case), and kom (kohm) (prepositional case).

In Russian, the word for whose is chyej (chehy) and which is kakoj (kuh-kohy). Both of these words change their endings depending on the gender, number, and case of the noun they modify. However, they are most frequently used in the nominative case.

Interrogative Pronoun

Genitive Case

Masculine

Feminine

Neuter

Plural

whose

chyej (chehy)

chyej (chehy)

ch’ya (ch’ya)

ch’yo (ch’yo)

ch’i (ch’yee)

which

kakoj (kuh-KOHY)

kakoj (kuh-KOHY)

kakaya (kuh-KAH yuh)

kakoye (kuh-KOH-eh)

kakiye (kuh-KEE-eh)

Here's a look at some different ways to put these interrogatives into some useful phrases.